Deadline: 5-Nov-21
The Australian High Commission has announced Direct Aid Program (DAP) to support projects that have a strong development focus, contribute to poverty reduction, and strengthen communities in India.
Funding Information
- Grants are typically provided up to 20 Lakh INR. The majority of grant funding must be used to cover the direct project expenses (excluding staff salaries).
- Any administrative costs given by the application should comply with current FCRA rules. Funding recipients must meet some of the project costs from their own funds or in-kind support.
- Projects should be self-contained, with finite timelines. Except in exceptional circumstances and only with prior approval, the projects may run for no longer than 12 months and should be self-sustainable beyond the term of the grant.
Eligible Activtities
- DAP activities should aim to achieve practical and tangible outcomes of high development impact. Under Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, both the countries are committed towards building a prosperous, open and stable post COVID-19 world by promoting inclusive global and regional institutions and engagements that promote stability, innovation and economic and social security based on shared interests.
- DAP 2021-22 will aim to channelise this commitment through supporting developmental initiatives (across the sub-themes below) that have long-term, sustainable outcomes, thus reaffirming Australia and India’s mutual understanding, trust, common interests and the shared values on democracy and rule of law.
- Education, innovation & entrepreneurship: under education, projects that work towards increasing access and awareness on the new medium of learning during COVID-19. Under skill and entrepreneurship, projects that promote micro and small-scale industries that have been impacted due to COVID-19, and dovetail with India’s self-reliance mission
- Gender equality: projects that address gender-sensitive COVID-19 issues including women’s health and nutrition requirements, economic empowerment and help end violence and discrimination and are consistent with Australia’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment strategy
- Agricultural productivity and Water: under agriculture, projects that support productivity in India’s agricultural sector, and/or demonstrate Australia’s expertise and support for Indian agricultural exports. Australia and India have been formally collaborating on water management since 2009.
- Water scarcity and water security is part of the bilateral cooperation and DAP is open to supporting projects that enable access and sustainable use of drinking water
- Public Administration and Governance: projects that promote good governance models and facilitate access and awareness on government schemes and programs through advocacy and capacity building, especially tailored to COVID-19 requirements.
- They welcome projects that also consider immediate COVID-19 relief, rehabilitation and response measures as well as focus on health and disability inclusion within the above priority themes.
Outputs
The proposals must be clearly defined with specific outputs. The approval and rejection of a proposal might be on the basis of:
- the costs and the development benefits of the proposal
- achievable and sustainable outcomes
- soundness of the project’s objectives and design
- the practicability of the proposed implementation arrangements
- whether the project conforms with the objectives of the Direct Aid Program, and
- compliance with FCRA rules.
Eligibility Criteria
- DAP funding is available on a not-for-profit basis to NGOs and academic institutions engaged in development activities.
- For projects in India, applicants must have current Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration and the applications should be in line with its latest Amendment Rules.
- The Australian High Commission in New Delhi supports small-scale, sustainable development projects in north India.
- States covered by the Australian High Commission in New Delhi: Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
- States covered by the Australian High Commission in New Delhi: Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
- If the project is in Goa, Gujarat or Maharashtra, queries should be directed to the Australian Consulate in Mumbai
- If the project is in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu or Telangana, queries should be directed to the Australian Consulate in Chennai
- If the project is in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal, queries should be directed to the Australian Consulate in Kolkata
For more information, visit https://india.highcommission.gov.au/ndli/DirectAidProgram.html